Two women fatally shot in robbery try

Employees at Wawa in Aberdeen killed

gunman flees on foot

Manhunt under way

3rd worker, customer in the store during incident are unhurt

Two female employees were fatally shot during an attempted robbery of a convenience store last night, Aberdeen police said.

Aberdeen police, county sheriff's deputies, Havre de Grace police and state troopers were searching early today for one man, possibly two.

The women were killed about 8: 10 p.m. in a Wawa Food Market in the 200 block of N. Philadelphia Blvd., said Detective Sgt. Fred Budnick of Aberdeen City Police.

One of the victims died at the scene; the other was pronounced dead at Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace, said a spokesman for the Harford County Fire Board.

Budnick identified the victims as Melissa Pennington, 18, and Nancy Atkinson, 30, both of the Aberdeen area.

Budnick said it has been years since Aberdeen, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore in Harford County, experienced a double homicide.

"We'll have to go back many years before we find another one," he said.

Details of the incident were sketchy.

According to Budnick, a man wearing dark clothing entered the store on Aberdeen's north side about 8: 10 p.m. and announced a holdup.

"We don't know exactly what occurred next or what was said, but somewhere along the line, the man pulled out a weapon and began shooting," Budnick said.

Budnick said that after shooting the employees, the man fled on foot.

Budnick said it was not immediately known if the gunman escaped with cash. He said another man, who was outside the store, could have been an accomplice.

Budnick said at least one customer and another employee, who was in a back room, were in the store but were not injured. He said they were being interviewed early today by detectives in an attempt to get a description of the gunman and an account of what occurred.

Authorities were also viewing the store's surveillance videotape, Budnick said.